College merger move opposed

A STAFF REPORTER

Jorhat, Dec. 3: The students of Dr J.K. Saikia Homoeopathic Medical College, Jorhat, have opposed the government’s proposed move to amalgamate three government homeopathy colleges in the state into one.

The move seeks to merge Dr J.K. Saikia Homoeopathic Medical College with other two government homeopathy colleges in Nagaon and Guwahati.

The college’s North East Students’ Forum president, Honghe Konyak, and general secretary Uday Shankar Sorkar argued that there was a rise in the demand for homeopathy treatment in the region. Hence, the government’s decision to close down two government homeopathy colleges by merging them with another one was uncalled for and against the interest of poor people.

The union said the government should not close down the Jorhat-based college under any circumstances because it was the “largest homeopathy college with good infrastructure and 12 departments, in which students of the Northeast have a quota to study. Currently, there are 50 students from the Northeast out of a total of 133 students.”

According to the union, the government has halved the number of seats in each college from 50 this year, which was indicative of the fact that there were plans to merge the colleges.

Retired principal of Dr J.K. Saikia Homoeopathic Medical College K.K. Sarmah said the Jorhat-based college was the state’s first government homeopathy college. And, in recent years, it had received government funds from which infrastructure had been developed. So, the college should not be closed down even if a merger was done, which, too, was against the interest of the common people, he said.

Currently, the college has 23 teachers against the sanctioned number of 43 posts as per the Central Council of Homeopathy, the former principal said.